


cellophane

by 1once



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Mokuton User Haruno Sakura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22906858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1once/pseuds/1once
Summary: She executed almost everything with one move: by planting her fist to the ground, and a branch coming straight through out of everyone’s heart from a single root.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Haruno Sakura
Comments: 16
Kudos: 495





	cellophane

**Author's Note:**

> this is so indulgent LMAO

It seemed like the entire village was listening. 

There was not a sound that echoed besides the stinging words and hard pushes that were exchanged between Naruto and Sasuke. Not even her own lips moving was loud enough to overcome the silence that everyone was seemingly placed under.

Sakura watched as they both worked against each other, to the places it hurt the most. Although this fight was physical, their verbal attacks seemed to hit harder than the punches and kicks they land. Everytime the other said something, it twisted the heart painfully because he knew it struck the core. This fight wasn’t petty or childish, no matter how their bodies move.

This was personal.

She saw it in the way Sasuke’s blood red eyes hardened. She saw it in the way Naruto moved to get up after each hit. Their body movements were twitching to get back up again with the pure intent to hurt. It seemed like nothing could quench their desire to pulverize each other, at least not until some blood would be spilled.

The achingly familiar sound of the screeching birds from Sasuke’s chidori snaps her attention to him. Naruto's blinding power of forming his rasengan makes her heart sink. Her chest hammers in fear and anxiety as she watches both of them charge at each other with venom in their eyes and no hesitation. 

They don’t even falter when she runs in the middle, a futile attempt on her part at stopping them.

Her mind emptied to the point she forgot everything else in the world as she sprinted towards them. She didn’t think about Ino’s snarky smile or the laughter lines of her father’s face. Sakura couldn’t remember the sweetness of a dango during a warm summer’s day, or the rare times she laughs at Kakashi’s jokes. She couldn’t even remember the warmth of her mother embracing her, after being chased around the house when she was a young child.

All she can think about is her two stupid teammates trying to kill each other, and her own two feet planted on the ground.

“Stop!”

In the back of her mind, she knew they wouldn’t have stopped. Not for her, or anyone for that matter. Their momentum was too strong to redirect their chakra anywhere else besides at each other. She came straight for the middle, and even if they had all the strength in the world, she knew they couldn't have stopped. Not only was it physically impossible, Sakura knew they wouldn’t have done it any other way.

Her eyes close and the last thing she sees is the pure emptiness of the Konoha blue sky. The village was still silent besides the disturbance her teammates were making. The sky reflected the stillness of sound.

However, instead of tranquility, she felt chaos in its blank state. This empty slate creates turmoil and disorder, something she feels and sees with Naruto and Sasuke. The last emotion she will feel is the disturbed feeling of chaos, and it saddens her she couldn’t be at peace.

She expects unbearable pain, mostly from Naruto’s side. Sakura notes that with Sasuke's trajectory, it would be aimed straight towards her heart, clean through her chest. Naruto's rasengan would scrape her shoulder, especially since she saw how much he tried to pull back when he realized where she stood. Sakura appreciates his gesture, but that pain would have made her death much more painful, compared to Sasuke's quick but fatal jab.

This is her last action on earth: analyzing how she would die because she couldn’t do anything else. It was useless, but at least she did something.

Sakura breathes in. She calculates that Sasuke’s chidori will strike first, followed closely by Naruto’s rasengan by a close millisecond. Although it was slower, it doesn’t mean it’ll hurt any less.

But the pain never comes.

She exhales sharply once she realizes that the impact never came. This was a breath that she had not accounted for. She had calculated every moment leading up to the hit, even when she hastily made her decision to her death. She had accepted her bloody demise, and yet, her feet are still solidly planted to the ground.

And so are the wooden branches protecting her. 

It wraps around her in a protective ball, with her right in the center. The branches curve around her into a sphere, and the little cracks in between the branches was her source of light from outside. Faintly, she can smell charred wood. She looks down and she is completely unharmed. Her stance was still at a point where she tried to stop them, with her arms spread apart and her knees buckled.

Sakura's hand shakes as she touches the wood that saved her. It shrinks but not in death, but gracefully under her touch. It was like it was receding under her will. The sphere opens up as the feeling of fear and dread in her chest fades away. Not only does more light pour in, but she realizes how many layers of protection her sphere held her in. There was no way the two attacks could have harmed her, not with how durable her barrier was. 

She steps out and her jaw almost drops at the sight. Naruto and Sasuke are dangling in the air, both with branches holding them in place. The rasengan and chidori are gone, and instead of the vehement anger in their eyes, it switched to confusion and shock instead.

“S-Sakura,” Naruto gasps, his eyes blinking furiously fast. It takes her a moment to realize he wasn’t calling out her name, but rather from where she walked out from.

There were cherry blossoms blooming from the branches. Undeniable pink buds spurting at a constant rate all around them. One of them flies off from the branch and into the breezy air, coming right towards her like she summoned it. It lands in her palm and when she gazes at it, the cherry blossom blooms even bigger. 

“That is impossible...” Sasuke murmurs, caught in between shock and amazement. For the first time in her life, at that moment, she could care less for what he says. Nothing from him can matter more than this right now.

She created this. Something greater than them. Something greater than their argument who almost killed her.

She created life.

A figure drops right next to her. Kakashi crouches in front Sakura. For the first time since she met him, he looks like he has interest towards her in his single eye. Instead of the cherry blossom in her palm, he looks at her face with something perplexed. It’s like he doesn’t know whether to be in awe at this astonishing skill, or devastated at the newfound weight of everything on her shoulders. There will be more after her now, possibly at the same demand of the last Uchiha and the Nine Tails jinchuriki. If she even comes close to the First Hokage’s strength in wood release, her life is that much closer to its end.

He sighs.

Kakashi puts a hand on top of Sakura’s pink head. There will be tragedy in the future, but for now, he will allow himself to feel pride. His student has finally blossomed after all.

“My, my, my. Looks like we have a mokuton user.“

-

In the end, Sasuke still leaves the village.

Rather than waking up on the cold hard ground like she expected, she opens her eyes in a warm cocoon of warmth, and the deep smell of mahogany. 

She feels no pain. In fact, she felt more than comfortable inside her nest. The only thing that felt odd was the number of Chuunin waiting outside of her wooden enclosure. Memories from the night before brings shivers to her heart, especially her treacherous words of begging to Sasuke for him to bring her along.

Instead, when the wood unravels to fully reveal Sakura outside to the world, the only thing in their eyes is wonder.

“L-Lady Tsunade would like to speak with you,” one of them stumbles to speak, his stance unsure if he should be ready to attack or not.

Sakura looks around. The sun peacefully falling on everyone doesn’t lift her spirits from the moonlight before. Her face feels puffy and when she takes her first step, her knees almost buckle. But she continues. Her parents must be mad with worry that she didn’t come home, but her thoughts are blank as she heads towards the Hokage tower.

She couldn’t make him stay. 

Tsunade will probably reprimand her for letting Sasuke leave the village. She will yet again be reminded of how weak and useless she is. This time, it might be the final straw for her incompetence. The thought of being stripped of her rank as _Genin_ makes her sick. She was already at the lowest rank and even that would be taken away from her.

Sakura knocks once and it takes a few moments for her to be allowed to enter. The air inside is tense and if it weren’t for the open windows Shizune probably forced to open, Sakura would have choked in fear. 

Tsunade sits behind her desk, her face unsurprisingly concentrated and tight. One of her shinobi just deserted and she is looking at the last face that witnessed him. Sakura doesn’t even remember much about what happened, and she is willing to bet that someone from the interrogation unit will extract her unconscious memories by force. It makes her shiver, and Tsunade’s deep brown eyes see that.

“Approximately six hours ago, your teammate had not only abandoned his post, he left you in a compromising situation that has harmed you quite mentally and _could_ have harmed you physically,” her tone is icy cold, and rightfully so. “You are the last known person to speak to Uchiha Sasuke before he deserted the village.“

In the split second after Tsunade finishes talking, the emotion of everything that has happened to her literally crashes down to Sakura. For the safety of the village, it is more than understandable to figure out all the information about Sasuke’s departure to retrieve him as soon as possible. But to feel the overwhelming weight and burden of everything that just happened to Sakura feels so tremendous, her head feels light and she sways slightly before her world topples over.

Much like every time she activates her powers, she does it unconsciously. The branches wrap around her body carefully to catch her before she falls hard on the floor. It holds her until she feels ready enough to stand steadily by herself, and when the rest of the branches disappear, only one crutch remains to support her.

The wood was faster than Tsunade, who jumped from her chair the second she saw Sakura waver. The quick turn of events does not deter Tsunade’s cool headedness, despite having a wood release user before her eyes.

“I’m- I'm okay,” Sakura heaves, her chest rising up and down. “I am ready to talk to you about what happened, and I am ready to receive the necessary punishment you see fit in my lack of action in stopping...”

She can’t even say his name. That has to be the worst part of the entire thing; after pouring her entire soul for him, she can’t even utter his name.

Tsunade moves closer to her until her height towers over Sakura completely. Her face is a mask with no emotion showing whatsoever. When Sakura sees her raise her hand at her, her body tenses, ready for some type of hit, until all that comes to her is a heavy but comfortable hand on her shoulder.

“I do not want that,” Tsunade assures, her eyes softening monumentally. Sakura's shock makes her eyes widen and Tsunade smiles sadly as she helps her stand. “I want you to rest. Shizune will help you to the hospital to make sure you are properly treated. You did well last night.”

Sakura can’t even explain how much relief passes through her as she listened to Tsunade. There is real pride shining in her eyes as she looks at Sakura. Her body visibly slackens and her eyes water with tears, but none of them fall. However, if her shoulders shake with silent sobs, Tsunade doesn’t mention it in any way.

As she limps out of the room and Tsunade returns to her desk, the giant hole in her office eases the air inside the room. It was as if all the tension escaped through the crater. the ache from the night before leaves as the fresh air filters inside the office. 

“Sakura,” Tsunade calls out right before Sakura leaves the room. 

Sakura turns around to find Tsunade leaning back on her desk. Although a master of concealing her true age, the clear strain from being Hokage is visible on her face. Despite that, her brown eyes glimmer beneath the stress the job brings.

“Good job and rest well. We start training as soon as you recover.”

Her breath hitches and instead of the Hokage she looks at, she now sees only a mentor.

Her mentor. 

The air is different as they both look at each other with their respective new positions. A hint of pride in both of their gazes.

Sakura smiles and feels some burden off of her shoulders, but not all of it. Her lungs still rattle with struggle but for now, that’s alright. She allows herself at least that because she knows in the future she will have to endure much more, especially under the teachings of a Sannin. 

Before she hobbles off with her wooden crutch, Sakura nods to her new mentor: the granddaughter of the most powerful wood release user in history. It’s fitting.

“Thank you, shishou.”

-

She enters anbu without ranking up. Tsunade assures her that the Jōnin exams are on the horizon and that she’ll pass with flying colors, but for now, her abilities are more important than formalities.

Sakura only ever goes if she truly is needed, considering her skills aren’t honed to the fullest potential yet. Even then, she is currently the most indispensable shinobi in Konoha. Having field experience will surely award the village in the future, and she is more than willing to test her limits.

Of course, hanging out with the other members is also quite entertaining.

The only other person known to have wood release is Captain Yamato, and it was only right for her to be placed under his leadership. It didn't take long to realize that her skills in wood release was much more superior than his, but he was more proficient in controlling his power. She needed to learn, and although Tsunade did her best in teaching her wood release, it made much more sense to learn under a user.

She wouldn’t say she particularly enjoyed some of the missions, but the company was endearing. It was rare to find someone near her age, so she spent time with members much older than her. They gave her their experience, tips, and even new jutsu to make life as a covert operative easier.

To increase her skills on being stealthy by tenfold, she learned how to walk on the very tips of her toes. To silence herself, she learned how to hold her breath for hours, if needed.

They even taught her how to fend for her own, by sending her on a mission to complete by herself. She used all her knowledge up until then and infiltrated a rogue shinobi compound. Her team were in the shadows, observing her, when she dispatched everyone in the building with the exception of the leader, who they still needed to interrogate.

She executed almost everything with one move: by planting her fist to the ground, and a branch coming straight through out of everyone’s heart from a single root. 

When Sakura first joined ANBU, a new team was formed. It had no official name, just one of the countless teams in Konoha’s shadows, but everyone who was important knew of _her_ team.

Team Bark.

She thinks it started as a joke of some sorts; with two wooden users on one team, it just made sense. But as she felt her roots spread through the building, and sense every chakra as it shot through them, she realizes the other side of the meaning.

It was the growl she felt in her chest when her fist touched the ground. It was the unexpected barring of her teeth under her mask when she caught sight of the leader, surrounded by unconscious but unharmed young girls around him.

It was the feral strength her team held. As they all moved in shadows, their presence alarmed anyone who was near them. 

Afterwards, they returned to Konoha together. She kept her newfound realization to herself, mostly because she already knew that her team _knew_. It was not because they spoke of it, but it was simply in the way they walked and moved. There were plenty of times others were more than unwelcoming when she first came in, a small Chuunin girl who outranked those who has been in ANBU for years.

Soon afterwards, it was not hard for them to steer clear of her, while trying their hardest not to cower when they saw Yamato or members of her team. 

Her team barked, and they certainly bit. 

“Understood. You are released now,” Tsunade says after receiving their brief. 

All of them stand to leave, but after catching her eye, Sakura stays kneeling. Two years with Tsunade taught her how to speak without moving her lips. After seeing her nod, Sakura stands up before her and watches Tsunade lift her chin off her knuckles. She leans against her chair and crosses her arms, a proud smirk on her face. 

“All of them, huh?”

She knows Tsunade can’t see through her mask, but she knows she can see her smiling.

“Technically, one of them is at T&I right now,” Sakura replies easily.

Tsunade barks out a chuckle. 

“Don’t get all smartass on me just because of your first successful solo,” she reminds her, but there’s no malice in her words. In fact, it sounds like she’s enjoying Sakura’s newfound confidence. “No training tomorrow but I do have an errand for you. Go to the main gates and fetch me the coming and goings of arrivals and departures.”

It wasn’t said in words, but Sakura figures out this was her version of a reward. It was a cakewalk, and Tsunade knows it as well. She doesn’t expect anyone important to breeze through the gates; she will sleep easy tomorrow.

“Understood, shishou. Will there be anything else?”

Tsunade doesn’t quite grin, but it is as close as it can get. 

“Get plenty of rest tonight. Konoha thanks you for your service.”

On any other day, she would have just received a curt nod. But today she had her ANBU mask on. Tsunade acknowledges the uniform. Sakura’s tattoo burns proudly on her arm and she nods before leaving her office.

She heads straight to the lockers before going home. Her parents are probably already asleep, but that isn’t a problem. They think she’s on a package run to Suna, and aren’t expecting her until tomorrow morning.

After she changes out of her uniform, she takes off her mask last. She hangs it gently inside her locker. A pure white mask with branches of pink petals stares back at her. Now that she thinks about it, it isn’t exactly covert, But it is unique. Every mask is different, but she feels content with hers. It is her own. It doesn’t quite define her, but it sure is close. 

Her code name rings in her head as she quietly closes her locker. _Shiten_. She's alone in the room, but her thoughts are so loud it bounces back to her on the walls.

If there’s anything to take out of this mission, it’s the thought that she finally doesn’t need to look at anyone else besides her own abilities. And she did extremely well tonight. Naruto and Sasuke's figures loom into her mind, and as much as she loves the both of them, she loathes the image of their backs. She wills it to fade from her mind, and instead focus on her chakra inside of her. It's already more than halfway full despite only starting two years ago. Tsunade estimates she’ll have earned her seal give or take a few months, and that only fuels Sakura to finish in weeks. She knows she can do it.

She is more than capable enough to handle it on her own.

Whether it be as Sakura, or Shiten the ANBU operative, she will flourish. 

She is the stem that will bloom at the greatest heights. 

-

Head medic. ANBU Captain. Jōnin. A Sannin discipline.

She supposes she can also add “constructor” to her resumé, and she’s only 16.

Sakura sits on top of a stack of wooden planks. Her hair is tied up and she is drenched in sweat. The only thing next to her is her water bottle and a few snacks, which includes a few meal pills to keep her going. The snacks are there to fuel her heart while the meal pills are there to actually help her body function.

Reconstructing Konoha has mostly fallen on to her shoulders, with the help of Captain Yamato. With a bigger chakra reserve and a more detailed ability in mokuton, Sakura has taken up the mantle of creating the more important institutions, such as the hospital or government buildings. 

She's been working nonstop for a few days now. Even with the help of numerous carpenters from all over the Land of Fire, recreating an entire village will take countless of time and effort. When she isn’t conjuring buildings, she is spending her time with patients that need a higher treatment than just basic care, such as surgeries or a steady healing for a long period of time.

And with no time on her hands, just watching the lilac sky is a luxury. 

If she didn’t sense the flaming orange chakra behind her, she would have punched a hole right through Naruto. Actually, she heard him more than she sensed him, so she continues to lay with her legs dangling off the planks. 

“Here you are, Sakura!” he greets, taking a seat next to her. His hands reach for the chips and on a normal day, she would have snapped at him to get his own, but her bones could melt if she unnecessarily moves. She is /that exhausted. “How you holdin’ up?”

Naruto took her new and refined abilities gracefully. Well, as graceful as Naruto can get. His awe in her expertise of wood control still blows his mind sometimes, and Sakura can feel the huff of pride in her chest when she holds her own weight during missions. Her respect for his skills is equal to his admiration for her. Their abilities have both heightened over the two years and they balance each other well despite the time gap between their Genin years to now.

“Wonderful,” she replies. It isn’t a lie; progress is fast and that is monumentally excellent for everyone in the village. But she can’t help but leave a little bit of a sarcastic tone in her word, because if it isn’t obvious enough, Sakura is drained. Both chakra and energy wise.

Naruto hums. It isn’t often he pursues the quiet route in a conversation, and that quirks her attention. It hasn’t been that long since his confrontation with Pain, and the emotional and physical toll must have been intensive, so she decides to take his silence with a large grain of salt.

Her first mistake. 

“Sakura?”

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” he hesitantly says.

She narrows her eyes and before she can lift herself up from a lying position, he conjures a clone and throws her off the very high planks she was peacefully resting on. It wasn’t skyscraper high, but it was certainly so off the ground that it made her slightly dizzy when she looked down.

And she is definitely looking down now.

Although her fatigue made her slower, she hasn’t forgotten her training. Maybe if she was a millisecond earlier, her wood branches could have caught her, but Choji was faster. In fact, a whole group of her supposed friends were silently waiting below them. He caught her and held her firmly in his grasp while Tenten grinned and took her legs so she wouldn’t kick her way out of it.

“Ta dah!” Naruto exclaims, jumping down from the planks. “It’s an intervention!”

Her face burned with anger, but also with embarrassment. To be ambushed by her very loud and rambunctious friends is not something she would like Team Bark to hear. Hell, if this reaches Tsunade, she would be lifting boulders for months as a punishment. 

“You don’t need to kidnap me, Naruto!” she grits through her teeth, trying to wiggle out. She looks pathetic, and probably similar to a worm, but nobody looks at her like that. Instead they feel glee in accomplishing the impossible; taking Sakura down. Admittedly, it was when she was exhausted and unguarded, so she considers this a very unfair fight.

“I wouldn't say it’s kidnapping...” Naruto mutters, scratching his chin to find a better word.

“Oh it definitely is, forehead,” Ino pops out of seemingly nowhere. Her smug smirk is broad on her face and Sakura glares at her. Beneath the infuriating smile, a deep layer of concern is in her blue eyes, whether Ino admits it or not. “Do you know how long you’ve been working for?”

Sakura huffs. She doesn’t know.

“A few days,” she bluffs, hoping she’s right just to save skin. 

“Two _weeks_ , Billboard Brow,” Ino retorts, vindication in her voice. “With only three hours of sleep out of 336 hours! Just because you think your chakra reserve is as big as your forehead doesn’t mean it is.” She flicks her forehead playfully before looking down sadly. “You can’t continue to work like this.”

She ignored the second to last part, but the fact hit her hard in the face. Truly like a slap. Sakura's jaw slackens but her face is still firm in annoyance. Ino sees right through her, and crosses her arms. She too, also looks exhausted, probably from helping out at the hospital in her spare time. Sakura feels the true weight of everyone’s contributions to the village when she looks at the deep bags underneath their eyes. If they look this bad, how terrible does she look?

“Put her down,” Ino gently commands Choji and Tenten. When she touches the ground, her knees almost buckle. Hinata catches her before she falls, a hidden smile on her face. It hasn’t been long since she recovered, and she’s already well enough to help Sakura stand. 

Maybe she does need to tone it down a bit.

When she swings an arm around Ino’s shoulders, it’s clearly an act of reconciliation. She lets the weight on her shoulders fall slightly; she doesn’t let go of it, but she does offer some of them to her friends.

They walk close by her, not necessarily saying anything, but still helping her regardless. It wasn’t anything grand like building a structure from the ground. It was something as simple as standing near her. Being a shoulder to rest on.

“I think I am tired,” she murmurs. She doesn’t know if she’s talking to herself or to the others. Nonetheless it is still the truth, and it’s finally being spoken out loud. “I think I have been… for a long time.”

Sakura doesn’t know when she closes her eyes, but she does at some point. Watching the sun set is a luxury, but that isn’t what stays ingrained in her mind. The gorgeous lilac sky isn’t what she remembers. And even if she’s been bone exhausted for the longest she’s ever felt, that is also not what she remembers.

It's the warmth and the flowing breeze with her friends by her side.

It is love she remembers. 

-

There were a great plenty of things that were on her mind.

Her chakra reserve was at the greatest size it could ever possibly be.

It has been night for who knows how long since everyone basically lost their sense of time in this long darkness.

Sasuke returned. Not only that, he declared his purpose to become hokage.

But the one thing that made her truly explode in emotion was not any of that. It was actually the god of shinobi complimenting _her_ skills. 

“Your control over wood release is exceptionally excellent,” he says to her as they stand next to each other in a spare moment during battle. “Hints of Tsuna’s technique, but ultimately yours and maybe even greater than her strength. Say, do you mind lending me a hand?”

The jutsu he teaches her quickly is foreign to her, all ancient words and mystical. But the trust in his eyes is enough to make her want to do it. It is enough for her to know she can do it.

Alone.

“It would be my pleasure,” Sakura replies because she can never refuse someone who has the same eyes as her mentor. The grin he gives her is bigger than Tsunade can ever probably give, and yet she sees the exact smile on their face. 

“Wood release: The Priest’s Art of Expulsion.”

Her clap echoed inside the barrier. The ground rumbles in power as wood rises as a dome to protect the alliance inside the battle field. She has also allowed wood to roll up on to every shinobi and wrap them in individual wooden armor.

Not only did it provide an enormous outside shield around the barrier, it gave a personal defense in addition to Naruto’s chakra. All were awestruck as they felt it adjust on to their bodies, not at all uncomfortable at the sudden protection. In fact, it was flexible to move in, but extremely durable against attacks.

There was no question about who performed the jutsu when there was a cherry blossom symbol imprinted on the bark. 

“Nice touch,” Hashirama praises, smiling brightly at her creation. 

“My mentor taught me well,” Sakura grins. She remembers Tsunade’s warm hand on top of her forehead, the reassuring weight of her guidance.

Her response made hashirama laugh out loud, at the thought of his gambler granddaughter mentoring one of the most talented kunoichi in history. His eyes held unshed tears, all brimmed with pride.

Soon after, they jumped off to different positions because war was not the place nor time to reminisce. She found herself standing center to Sasuke and Naruto, who both glowed brightly in their equal but strikingly different aura. She didn’t even have to sense their chakra to feel the vast difference at their core.

Naruto felt bright, too blinding and too much. He overflowed with energy that mirrored the sun’s unbearable itching warmth on a summer day. 

Meanwhile Sasuke exuded a steady frigid coolness, that made it difficult to stand near him. There was no doubt that the cold sharpened his abilities, but at the expense of losing the touch that made him feel human. 

Her firmly planted feet in the middle provided the balance she ached for since the incident on the hospital rooftop. The day they both almost killed her. 

Sakura can still feel their presence looming in on her if she doesn’t pay attention. The sudden reminder shakes her out of her focus, which can be a terrible price to pay at the moment. It was years ago, but their current encirclement around her starts to suffocate her in panic. It’s foolish to think they are attacking her, but the positions are much too similar. Her brain screams to focus, but her palms start to sweat and her lungs struggle to breathe.

In between the sounds of battle and death, she can hear the sound of the whirl of the rasengan and a thousand birds screeching.

Just because she has returned balance to Team Seven does not mean she liberated her own peace from the past. 

“Sakura-? Sakura, are you okay?”

_Black. Blonde. Pink._

_The grass is uncharacteristically soft at the training grounds as they offer their fool of a teammate lunch. Although they would never admit it, the food tastes better because of it._

“Hn. It seems like she’s in shock.”

_Pink. Black. Blonde._

_All of their chests constrict as they anticipate the once impossible thought of unmasking their teacher. They all compress together to catch a glimpse, and the most stoic of them all doesn’t mind the extra squeeze from either side because he too expects the grand reveal of the century._

“Naruto, Sasuke, both of you must advance now.”

“No- not with her like this,” Naruto refutes strongly, while placing both of his hands square on her shoulders to try and shake her out of it. He can’t take his eyes off of the empty but terrified look on her face. “Sakura, wake up!”

Sasuke’s facade doesn’t change. However, he does take a step forward to assess what happened to her. His eyes don't feel any disturbance within her, and he quickly understands that this was a mental battle between herself. What he /does feel is the growing distress growing inside Naruto. 

And to his slight shock, within himself.

If Sasuke’s glimpse of her performance in battle showed anything, it was the proof that she had capabilities of unmatchable strength. His reminder of her prowess was his way of soothing the discomfort in his chest of seeing her like that.

“Sakura,” his voice was so quiet that his lips barely moved as he spoke her name. It would have been impossible for Naruto to hear him, let alone listen to the concern in Sasuke’s tone.

Simultaneously, they both speak together. The world is ending and it desperately needs them.

The _three_ of them. 

“Wake up.” 

_Black. Pink. Blonde._

_Sasuke could not stop. He has refused to let any tears form into his eyes again because what situation could ever be so dire than the one he already experienced so horrifyingly? Instead he closes his eyes. He could not bear to see so much blood. Not the blood of one so close to him. Not again._

_Naruto could not stop. But that does not mean he will ever stop trying. God, he will never stop trying. Even if it meant forcing every molecule in his body to avoid her. Even if it meant he had to take Sasuke’s hit and his own. He will do everything in his power to avoid harming Sakura. It’s all he has left._

Her green eyes open and she sees Naruto and Sasuke looking at her. Before that, she sees many large lumpy monsters the moment they try to attack their defenseless backs.

“Wood release: Greater Wood Technique.”

The branches intertwine around the monsters until they explode in front of them. Naruto and Sasuke look at their assailants, shocked at how quick Sakura reacted to the environment despite how deep her thoughts consumed her.

“Sorry,” Sakura shakily laughs. She’s still pale, but color is returning to her as fast as their focus. “The memories never left me, but I think I can put it down with this company.”

Naruto sighs out of relief, completely speechless. If he ever felt fear on this battlefield, it was just now with the sudden thought of losing her. 

Sasuke doesn’t say anything, but he takes a good glance at her to make sure she is fine. When they aren’t looking, he lets out the faintest breath. 

There is no time to discuss what happened. It came out of nowhere, so even Sakura was unprepared. All of them haven’t recovered from what just happened, but they couldn’t have prevented it. Instead they just inch closer together until all their backs hit each other. 

Wordlessly, they return to their previous formation. The puzzle is complete with everyone present, body and mind. The war is still raging on relentlessly but now they can focus on their main priority. They all take notice of their comrades fighting passionately, but the number of opponents is just too much. 

They all know what they must do.

“Summoning jutsu.”

Once the puff of smoke disappears, it reveals their three great summons. They are the new dead lock. They are the three greatest shinobi of their generation.

Slug. Toad. Snake.

They are Team Seven, and they have finally returned.

-

“Stupid pervy Kakashi,” Naruto complains with his face full of dirt and grime. “I can be studying right now!”

“Well that would be a first,” Sasuke snorts. Sakura laughs in agreement, nodding along.

It was difficult to align all three of them in one place. As reconstruction began after the war, all of them were too spread apart. Naruto started preparing to take over when Kakashi steps down as Hokage. Sakura spent her days mostly at the hospital, but gave a lending hand to the carpenters if she had the time. Sasuke traveled far and beyond, looking for ways to redeem himself one action at a time.

The moment he came back to Konoha, Kakashi decided it would be best to give them a good old training exercise. Especially if Sasuke was planning to leave again.

It was ridiculous, considering they defeated a goddess together. But who can deny the Hokage? But God forbid that did not mean they were complacent with this controversial order. All them held in their urge to slap his grin underneath his mask, but it was on absolute thin ice.

Even more than that, Kakashi had the audacity to tell them to train outside of Konoha. 

(“It’s a liability thing,” Kakashi mentions offhandedly as his students glare at him. “You said it yourself: you defeated a goddess. I would be crazy to tell you to train at Konoha. Just think about all the /complaints.”)

So this is where they are: in the middle of the Land of Fire, with the sun about to fade to turn into the moon. The sky is already freckled with some stars, so they use that to navigate their way back to Konoha since they have no map. Another stupid training exercise.

“How about we just find an inn and call it a day?” Naruto exclaims, bumping shoulders with them to find out how they feel about it. 

Sakura does feel her entire body weigh down due to the intense training they did. It's been awhile since she got up and actually moved like that. Her muscles ached from not being used that strainingly in a hot minute. 

“I wouldn't be against it...” she mumbles, raising a brow at Sasuke. He keeps walking straight ahead, but his limp is obvious. 

“Tch.”

“Inn it is!” he proclaims victoriously. “Lucky for you, I think I know one on the way to the village anyway!”

They make their way according to the stars, but soon enough, they start to see light and people. It was a small town, but it was not empty. The stores were still open and it was a comfortable environment to be in. Some kids were still running and playing even with the warm smell of dinner floating in the air.

Of course, seeing three battered shinobi make their way into town would stir conversations. All of them were much too tired to care about the townsfolk looking outside their window to peer and gape at them. 

“Excuse me,” a voice behind them calls out. They turn to find a young woman, perhaps around the same age as them. “The town head would like to invite you to have dinner. To show our gratitude to shinobi.”

Naruto's smile was probably the only thing that brought her to them. In fact, she stood tall with her eyes soft in extreme clarity. 

“If you insist, please lead the way!” he joyfully accepts and if Sasuke didn’t elbow Naruto in the ribs, she would have done it. But the deed has already been done, and with so many eyes watching them, it would’ve been difficult to retract their statement. 

Sakura was not surprised at the quick recognition. Naruto was beaming as he looked around and waved to the townsfolk. Sasuke did not interact with them but it did not mean he didn’t square his shoulders and stand tall. Everywhere they went, they were bound to be amazed at and recognized. They are the heroes of the Fourth War anyway.

As they entered the town hall, a vast array of food was already prepared. It seemed like families were donating a portion of their meal to their dinner, and Team Seven all bowed at the gifts. They did feel somewhat uncomfortable due to how unpresentable they looked, but it was probably because of their stained appearances that made them more recognizable. 

The town head was a round older woman. Her grey hair was tied in a bun on top of her head and her glasses took almost half of the space on her face. She spread her arms and welcomed them with a big smile. Sakura couldn’t place it, but she seemed familiar. 

“Shinobi! We welcome you to our humble small town,” she greeted. “To show our gratitude for your protection of this land and this peace, we offer you a meal and an abode to stay in. Please, accept our gifts.”

She bows and everyone around her lower their heads in thanks as well. 

“Thank you,” Naruto speaks honestly. He returns the bow, and Sasuke and Sakura follow. “We appreciate and welcome your gifts. Now please eat with us and let us enjoy this moment together.”

The town head glows brightly as she takes a seat. The dinner enters light pleasantries that makes the air in the room enjoyable and airy. Surprisingly, it was easy to delve into their good company. As she eats the food, she listens to Naruto talk to those who asked any questions. Even Sasuke was discussing with someone. Sakura herself was held in a conversation with a young girl with aspirations to also become a kunoichi. 

The moon rises and before they know it, their bellies are warm and their eyes are drooping. The food was delicious and it soothed the intense workout they did during training. She doesn’t have to look at Naruto and Sasuke to know they are tired, and luckily for them, the town head sees it as well.

“I am sure all of you are very tired, but if I may, I would like to make a toast,” she offers. Her eyes sparkle underneath her glasses, and Sakura might be wrong, but it looks like tears. “To whom we owe our lives and gratitude for constantly working to make our world better.” 

Her eyes gaze at the three of them, and maybe it's the saké that makes Naruto and Sasuke’s cheeks flush, or maybe it's the embarrassment. Either way, they look down while Sakura relishes their bashfulness. The town head must be preparing a toast for one of them. It’s not rare for someone to distinguish one of the two, especially if they helped them out personally before. She didn’t expect to stumble at their fanclub, and it had been a long time since the last time this happened. 

“As you all know, my granddaughter is my pride and joy,” the town head continues. She points to the girl who invited them to dinner, and it makes sense why the town head suddenly looked so familiar to Sakura. “I do not want to dim this happy occasion, but I must mention that an unfortunate event happened to her years ago that still leaves a stinging reminder sometimes. But by the work of a miracle, she returned to me, and all of us. Thankfully, we received justice from those who wronged us.”

While the townsfolk look down as they remember, the granddaughter looks straight ahead at them. Her eyes are full of unshed tears. 

“I never had the chance to thank the person who brought my girl home safely,” the town head muses. Then she locks eyes with Sakura. “Perhaps, until now. Although her memories were foggy, she remembered a girl who saved her. A masked girl with hair as pink as cherry blossoms.”

Sakura nearly drops her cup.

_She still felt the blood rushing as she finished planting her fist to the ground. Branches intertwined the rogue shinobi’s compound like decoration. She moved swiftly through until she made it into the main room._

_As she calculated, the only survivors were the young female hostages and the leader. He was already coiled dangerously tight in her branches. Meanwhile, the girls were unharmed, but shaking in fear at the sudden attack._

_“You are safe now,” Sakura says underneath her mask. She goes to them before her target, the leader. “You are all free to go.”_

_Nearly all of them take the chance to run at her declaration, all except one. Her target is unconscious but secure, so it doesn’t matter if she spends extra time on the girl. She seems like Sakura's age, and she can’t help but feel fury and anger at how she was taken at such a young age. Her dark hair tumbled out of the once tight bun on top of her head. Her eyes are hidden underneath her large glasses._

_“Do you want me to take you home?” This was not part of the protocol, but she doesn’t care. Sakura sees the same frightened eyes she sometimes sees in herself. The girl kept shaking, but she finally looked at her._

_She nodded her head at the slightest._

_After giving her target to Team Bark, who she knew were lurking in the shadows, she helped the girl stand. Underneath the darkness, it was easy to get lost, but luckily, Sakura spotted a small hub of light in the middle of the forest. The girl saw it too, and she pointed at it with a bit more energy than before._

_Without a doubt, Sakura knew it was the girl’s home._

_“I must go back soon,” Sakura says right before they enter the town. “This is the furthest I can go, but I will watch you until you get home safely. I promise.”_

_The girl took deep breaths but eventually started to walk by herself. She summoned all of her courage even if she turned around constantly. Every time, she always found Sakura's mask in the darkness. She perched on top of a tree to watch the girl enter the silent town, until a guard finally found her. Immediately, he recognized her and he scooped her into his arms. He yelled for help as the girl broke into tears of finally returning home._

_When the girl turned around to find the white mask of cherry blossoms, she was gone._

“So I propose a toast,” the town head powerfully urges. She stands and looks so grateful, towards her.

“To Doctor Haruno Sakura, for serving and protecting the Land of Fire. Of its many inhabitants. It is also not a secret that you have helped cured many of our ailments by traveling the land on medical missions. I fear that nothing in this world will be enough to say thank you for the kindness you gave my granddaughter. This might be a small town, but I am sure countless others owe their life to you.”

Sakura blinks, perhaps to keep the tears from falling. She is so overwhelmed that her heart hammers out of her chest. Everyone is looking at her now, in awe and praise. She was certain this dinner was in honor for either Sasuke or Naruto, or at the very least, just a couple of random shinobi. When she entered this town, she did not expect to be so loved. She did not realize how important she was and her work. 

“Thank you,” Sakura says out loud. Her voice doesn’t crack but it is drenched in emotion. “I don't know what else to say but thank you.”

She accepts the toast and they all drink in her honor. No one else is mentioned during the night as the girl rises up to finally embrace and thank Sakura personally. Her name was Jiyu, and she didn’t have to search hard to find out who the girl in the mask was. Jiyu studied in Konoha but never crossed paths with her, but that did not mean she didn’t know who Sakura was.

“Pupil of the legendary Sannin and Hokage herself, Lady Tsunade,” Jiyu gushed to her grandmother the first time she came home from Konoha. “Not only that, she is capable of using the rarest release in the shinobi world. The kunoichi who saved me is the _strongest_ in the world, and she is kind.” 

As the town head said, the dinner ended soon after. She saw Naruto and Sasuke retire first, who both glowed in pride at the sudden declaration of Sakura's honorable act. They were more proud than they were embarrassed for assuming the dinner was for them. She can hear them laugh right before the door closes of their shared room. 

There was no inn in the town, so all three of them cooped up together in the spare room of the town head’s house. They were too old to be embarrassed at the lack of space, and she knows who will be sleeping with who anyway.

As she lets them fight for who takes a shower first, she goes outside to feel the night breeze on her skin. She didn’t expect anything from tonight besides a few shots of saké and a peaceful sleep before waking up to inevitable snores and muscle aches.

Now she holds newfound weight to herself. It’s something she didn’t realize until it stared at her with its own two eyes.

Responsibility. But also, appreciation. Recognition. 

Peace.

Sakura never seeked acknowledgement. She just wanted to be better, because she knew she could do better. Deep down, a part of her knew that she wanted to change people’s view of her as a weak and useless girl. It was almost all that consumed her during her early years. It made her the person that she is now.

But the moment she protected herself from the two boys she loved the most was also the second she stopped caring about what they thought about her. 

Instead, she redirected that energy towards herself. 

It happened unconsciously, but it didn’t matter what Team Seven thought because there was no Team Seven, at least for a while. It mattered what she showed Tsunade, but not because of the reasons from before. It was solely because she wanted to improve herself. Team Bark knew her as the young girl who loved dango, but also as the ANBU operative who pierces hearts with her wood release.

By focusing her energy to development, she can now do more help in the world than she ever thought possible. She can now finally understand who she truly wanted to be, and she embraced it. 

It’s all coming back to her. The hard work, the fruits of her labor.

She hugs her knees as she looks out at the forest. Sakura sits on top of the roof, unseen and peaceful. She is near the height of the tall trees that the land is bountiful of, and the leafy green branches move as the breeze flows through them. Her pink hair moves the same direction of the leaves as the wind glides against her.

Sakura is many things. 

At peace is finally one, and it is the most important one she can earn.


End file.
